South Florida congressman condemns Donald Trump’s claims that Jews who vote for Democrats are disloyal

Congressman Ted Deutch, at a town hall in Pompano Beach on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, condemned President Donald Trump for questioning the loyalties of Jewish voters who pick Democrats. He also criticized U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and called for legislation to combat gun violence, including expanded background checks for gun buyers. (John McCall / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, a prominent Jewish member of Congress, condemned President Donald Trump’s assertion Wednesday that Jews who vote for Democrats are disloyal. Deutch also criticized two of his Democratic colleagues for their latest anti-Israel statements.

Deutch, a Broward-Palm Beach County Democrat with a large Jewish constituency, said “their support for Democrats is who they are, and their choice as they participate in our great democracy.”

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“The one thing that I know for sure is that their political preferences make them disloyal to no one – no one,” he said Wednesday evening.

Deutch was responding to Trump’s comments earlier in the day. “In my opinion, you vote for a Democrat, you're being very disloyal to Jewish people and you're being very disloyal to Israel. And only weak people would say anything other than that,” Trump said at the White House. He made a similar assertion on Tuesday.

The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League wrote Wednesday on Twitter that the charge of dual loyalty is an anti-Semitic trope that “has been used against Jews for centuries.”

Deutch raised the issue of Trump’s comments before taking audience questions at a congressional town hall in Pompano Beach.

He said anti-Semitic statements should be condemned whether they originate from the president or members of Congress.

“Anti-Semitism cannot be political. And it’s got to be condemned wherever it comes from, whether it comes from the left or the right. We cannot pick and choose and decide only to speak out when it comes from the party that is not your own,” he said. Unchallenged, anti-Semitism “too often leads to violence and death.”

Deutch has been consistently critical of such statements from Trump – and from U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, both of whom support the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement that seeks to punish Israel and delegitimize the country.

Deutch said the pair demonstrated, in a news conference on Monday, a “failure to recognize the challenges that Israel faces,” and “don’t actually reflect what’s happening on the ground in Israel.” He said they don’t reflect the overwhelming majority of Democrats in Congress.

After the town hall, Deutch added, “There are really complicated issues that need to be resolved and there’s no interest on their part to try to tackle them in a serious way when you advocate for something that seeks to delegitimize Israel,” referring to their support for B.D.S.

Guns

Deutch, who was an advocate of gun restrictions before the Parkland school massacre, said the recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton underscore the need for congressional action.

He wants to see expansion of background checks for gun buyers, which currently apply to some, but not all, purchases. If a background check is required to buy a gun at a store, Deutch said, “you should damn well have to get one if you buy a gun at a gun show or online.”

Deutch noted that Trump has vacillated on the issue. He said he’s looking toward “the President Trump of [Wednesday] afternoon who said we need background checks.”

The audience applauded his call for outlawing high capacity ammunition magazines and for an assault weapons ban, which he described as “getting weapons of war off our streets.”

He said Fort Lauderdale did the right thing by ending gun shows at the War Memorial Auditorium, and he urged Pembroke Pines to end gun shows at its City Center.

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Friendly audience

Deutch’s town hall attracted about 400 to the Emma Lou Olson Civic Center in Pompano Beach. Broward County is heavily Democratic, and many of his comments were applauded – with the most enthusiastic applause coming for some of the most liberal policies.

The audience burst into applause when Deutch brought up his proposal for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which opened up the elections to unlimited special interest spending.

The crowd also applauded Deutch-sponsored legislation to impose a carbon tax as a way to combat climate change. He said the tax, 100% of which would be returned to the public, would reduce carbon pollution and encourage innovation.

In response to a question about doing away with the Electoral College for picking the presidential winner, a topic that’s currently generating buzz among some Democrats, Deutch said it was a distraction – not worth spending any energy. It’s not going to happen before the 2020 election, he said, and any effort devoted to the notion detracts from efforts to win.

Trump

Deutch depicted the president as someone with little knowledge of world affairs.

He dismissed Trump’s recent claim that Russia was kicked out of the what was the G8 group of industrialized nations, now the G7, because Russian leader Vladimir Putin “outsmarted” former President Barack Obama is wrong. Russia was kicked out because it invaded the Ukraine and seized Crimea.

Meanwhile, Deutch said, “he cancelled a trip to Denmark not because Denmark did anything to offend our country, but because he didn’t like the language, he thought the language was nasty in the way that his suggestion of acquiring Greenland was received.”

The crowd cheered a question about impeachment. Deutch said the Judiciary Committee, on which he serves, would continue gathering evidence about presidential wrongdoing.

Politicians

The town hall attracted a contingent of elected officials and candidates, but only two got chances to speak. Pompano Beach Mayor Rex Hardin kicked off the event and Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony got time on stage, during which he touted his efforts to change the office.

Tony was appointed to the job after the suspension of Sheriff Scott Israel over what Gov. Ron DeSantis said were failures connected to the Feb. 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. “We are 10 times better than we were on Feb. 13, 2018,” said Tony, whose appearance was recorded by a sheriff’s office photographer and videographer.